Except where otherwise noted, spells
cannot be used outside of battle, are reflectable (with 'reflect'
status), can be sealed (by Celes's Magicseal Sword skill),
work normally on undead targets, are affected by the target's
magic defense, are half as effective when used on multiple
targets, and are blockable (through magic evasion). All spells
are, of course, magical rather than physical.

Defense-ignoring magic attacks
disregard the following factors that normally affect magic:
attacker 'transform' status, target magic defense, target 'shell'
status, and target 'transform' status. Usually it's the target
magic defense that matters most here, reducing defendable
magic damage by about (MDef / 256)%. Defense-ignoring
magic also disregards critical hits, but since spells can only critical
when cast by a weapon that gets automatic critical hits,
which applies only to Flare as cast by the Ragnarök
and Holy as cast by the Lightbringer, this only matters for a
Flare spell from the Ragnarök.

Power to cost ratio gives a relative
measure of how much bang (damage or healing) you get for your
buck (MP cost). All power to cost ratios assume a single target
(since some magic can only have a single target, while most others
have half the effect per target with multiple targets). Summons and
spells use the same scale, but trying to compare those that are
defense-ignoring with those that aren't is meaningless.
Defense-ignoring effects typically have a lower power, resulting
in seemingly poor ratios, but more than make up for by avoiding
several steps of damage calculation that typically lower final
effectiveness.

魔法 Magic

こうげき

Attack

Attack

Attack magic covers every damage
type except Water, though
Wind only comes mixed
with Flame in the Melton
spell. Additionally, Holy and
Earth only appear in a single
spell each, neither of which is available until fairly late in the
game. However, there are always other ways to use these
damage types, such as special character abilities or
elemental weapons.

Of the three mainstay elements in attack
magic, the Ice spells are always
(marginally) the strongest in their power class, while two out of
three Thunder spells are
(just as marginally) the weakest, despite having the highest cost.
The Flame spells are always
both the least expensive and the most efficient, even Fira, which
is weaker than either Blizzara or Thundara. However, Poison
is a better early choice for both cost and power, and Holy and
(usually) Flare are more economical later on (assuming in all
cases that there's no need to hit multiple targets). Of course, if
your opponent has a weakness, it usually makes sense to target
that regardless. And it goes without saying that Ultima will wreck
anything's day once it's available.

ファイア
炎属性のダメージ魔法

FireFlame magic damage

Fire
Fire-elemental attack

4 MP.
Flame magic damage at 21
power to one or all enemies or allies (one side). 150 hit rate.
Power to cost ratio is 5.250.

ブリザド
冷気属性のダメージ魔法

BlizzardIce magic damage

Ice
Ice- elemental attack

5 MP.
Ice magic damage at 22
power to one or all enemies or allies (one side). 150 hit rate.
Power to cost ratio is 4.400.

サンダー
雷属性のダメージ魔法

ThunderThunder magic damage

Bolt
Lightning-elemental attack

6 MP.
Thunder magic damage
at 20 power to one or all enemies or allies (one side).
150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 3.333.

ポイズン
敵を毒におかします

Poison
Afflicts enemy with poison

Poison
Poisons an enemy

3 MP.
Poison magic damage at 25
power and 'poison' status to one enemy or ally. 100 hit rate.
Power to cost ratio is 8.333, best of any learnable
attack magic.

ドレイン
敵からＨＰを吸収します

Drain
Absorbs HP from enemy

Drain
Drains HP from an enemy

15 MP. Transfers HP from one enemy or ally
to the caster at 38 power, but reverses when used on undead targets.
Never takes more HP than needed to max out the caster (if the target
is undead, to max out the target instead). 120 hit rate, unreflectable.
Power to cost ratio is 2.533.

ファイラ
炎属性のダメージ魔法

FiraFlame magic damage

Fire 2
Fire-elemental attack

20 MP.
Flame magic damage at 60
power to one or all enemies or allies (one side). About three
times as strong as Fire, and identical except for power and
cost. 150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 3.000.

ブリザラ
冷気属性のダメージ魔法

BlizzaraIce magic damage

Ice 2
Ice-elemental attack

21 MP.
Ice magic damage at 62
power to one or all enemies or allies (one side). About
three times as strong as Blizzard, and identical except
for power and cost. 150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 2.952.

サンダラ
雷属性のダメージ魔法

ThundaraThunder magic damage

Bolt 2
Lightning-elemental attack

22 MP.
Thunder magic damage
at 61 power to one or all enemies or allies (one side).
About three times as strong as Thunder, and identical
except for power and cost. 150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 2.773.

バイオ
毒属性のダメージ魔法

BioPoison magic damage

Bio
Poison-elemental attack

26 MP.
Poison magic damage at 53
power and 'poison' status to one or all enemies or allies (one side).
120 hit rate. A bit more than twice as strong as Poison, but much
less efficient. Power to cost ratio is 2.038, the worst of any learnable
attack magic that doesn't ignore defense.

ファイガ
炎属性のダメージ魔法

FigaFlame magic damage

Fire 3
Fire-elemental attack

51 MP.
Flame magic damage at 121
power to one or all enemies or allies (one side). About six
times as strong as Fire, and identical except for power and
cost. 150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 2.372.

ブラザガ
冷気属性のダメージ魔法

BlizzagaIce magic damage

Ice 3
Ice-elemental attack

52 MP.
Ice magic damage at 122
power to one or all enemies or allies (one side). About six
times as strong as Blizzard, and identical except for power
and cost. 150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 2.346.

サンダガ
雷属性のダメージ魔法

ThundagaThunder magic damage

Bolt 3
Lightning-elemental attack

53 MP.
Thunder magic damage
at 120 power to one or all enemies or allies (one side).
About six times as strong as Thunder, and identical except
for power and cost. 150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 2.264.

ブレイク
敵１体を石にかえます

Break
Turns one enemy to stone

Break
Turns an enemy to stone

25 MP. Sets 'petrified' status on one enemy
or ally. 120 hit rate, but always fails on targets immune to instant
death, and stamina can also block this.

Break
has high accuracy, but like most petrifying attacks, it fails
if the target is immune to instant death, not just if immune to
'petrified'. This frequently makes it inferior to
Death, which only checks
the former, but at least Break
can kill undead monsters if they lack immunity.

Note that you can use
Raise to instantly
kill undead enemies. Not only does it eliminate them, it costs
less, never misses, and can't be reflected.

ホーリー
聖なる属性ダージ魔法

HolyHoly magic damage

Pearl
Pearl-elemental attack

[rant]Sorry, but...
"pearl"? Changing "Death" to
"Doom" is bad enough, but... "pearl"...??
I suppose the spell does look kind of like pearls, but...
"pearl"!? If there's really something wrong with
"holy"—and I've never understood why
there would be—why not "light" or
"purify" or even "smite"?[/rant]

40 MP. Holy
magic damage at 108 power to one enemy or ally.
150 hit rate. Power to cost ratio is 2.700, efficient for
its strength.

フレア
魔法防御無視のダメージ魔法

Flare
Magic damage that ignores magic defense

Flare
Barrier-piercing attack

Ignoring magic defense is not the same
as piercing barriers. That makes it sound unreflectable, which it
is not. Why not "Defense-piercing attack"?

45 MP. Defense-ignoring magic damage
at 60 power to one enemy or ally. 150 hit rate. Power to cost
ratio is 1.333, defense-ignoring.

グラビデ
敵のＨＰを １／２にする

Gravity
Halves enemy HP

Demi
Cuts an enemy's HP in half

33 MP. Halves one enemy's current HP (round
fractions up). 120 hit rate, unreflectable, but fails on targets immune
to instant death, and stamina can also block this attack.

グラビガ
敵のＨＰを １／４にする

Graviga
Quarters enemy HP

Quartr
Cuts an enemy's HP by 3/4

48 MP. Reduces the HP of each enemy
(both sides) to 1/4 of its current amount (round fractions up).
100 hit rate, unreflectable, but fails on targets immune to instant
death, and stamina can also block this attack.

Power to cost ratio doesn't really apply
here, but you're getting 50% more damage than Gravity for less
than 50% extra cost, and targeting all enemies at once on top of
that. While Graviga does have less accuracy against targets
with any magic evade, this makes no difference to stamina
blocking.

デジョン
敵を他次元に消し去ります

Dejon
Banishes enemy into another dimension

X-Zone
Sends an enemy into the X-Zone

According to numerous Japanese sites,
デジョン is believed to be short for ディメンション =
"dimension".

53 MP. Sets 'incapacitated' status on all
enemies (one side), dropping HP to zero. Delays dying counterattacks
when it succeeds, which usually means canceling them outright.
85 hit rate and unreflectable, but fails on targets immune to
instant death, and stamina can also block this. This spell has
less accuracy than the comparable Odin and Raideen kill-all
summons, but also costs less and doesn't have a one-try-per-battle
limit.

メテオ
敵全てにダメージ

Meteor
Damage on all enemies

Meteor
Damages multiple enemies

62 MP. Unblockable defense-ignoring magic
damage at 36 power to all enemies (both sides). Inflicts full damage
to multiple targets. Unreflectable and can't be sealed. Power to cost
ratio is 0.581, defense-ignoring.

This hits a bit stronger than a
multi-targeted Flare would, and while it costs more, it
also also bypasses reflection, evasion, and sealing.

アルテマ
敵全てにダメージ

Ultima
Damage on all enemies

Ultima
Damages multiple enemies

80 MP. Unblockable defense-ignoring
damage at 150 power to all enemies (both sides). Unreflectable.
Power to cost ratio is 1.875, defense-ignoring.

Ultima is arguably overpowered,
with the highest power of any learnable spell and ignoring defense
on top of that. The cost is a bit high (though frankly it's low for the
output), but the main drawback of the spell is how hard it is to learn.
Only the Genjuu Ragnarök and the Hero's Shield teach it,
both at a rate of x1, and getting one requires either passing up an
extremely powerful sword or spending hours purifying a cursed
shield. Tina can learn the spell naturally, but not until level 99,
so that's no easier. Ultima has another, less obvious, weakness:
Celes can absorb it with Magicseal Sword.

クエイク
敵味方全てに地属性ダメージ

QuakeEarth damage to all enemies and allies

Quake
Unfocused Earth-elementalattack

50 MP. Unblockable defense-ignoring
Earth magic damage at 110 power
to all enemies and allies (both sides). Always misses targets
with 'levitate' status, which includes most enemies that appear
to be flying. Unreflectable and can't be sealed. Highest power to
cost ratio of any defense-ignoring spell: 2.220, defense-ignoring.

Drawbacks or not, Quake has nearly
three quarters of the power that Ultima does. Try casting
it when all allies can absorb, negate, or simply avoid the
damage...

トルネド
敵味方全てに瀕死ダメージ

Tornado
Near-death damage to all enemies and allies

W Wind
Unfocused near-fatal attack

75 MP. Reduces the HP of each enemy
and ally (both sides) to 1/16 of its current amount (round fractions
up). 100 hit rate, unreflectable, and can't be sealed, but fails on
targets immune to instant death, and stamina can block this
attack.

メルトン
敵味方全てに防御無視の炎

Melton
Defense-ignoring flames on all enemies and allies

Merton
Unfocused piercing fire attack

85 MP. Unblockable defense-ignoring
Flame /
Wind magic damage at 138 power
to all enemies and allies (both sides). Unreflectable and can't
be sealed. Power to cost ratio is 1.624, defense-ignoring.

The name is believed to be short
for "meltdown".

Melton has nearly as much raw
power as Ultima does.
Try combining it with equipment that absorbs or negates
Flame or
Wind damage...

かんせつ

Indirect

Effect

ライブラ
敵１体のＨＰ・弱点をさぐる

Libra[ry]
Probes one enemy's HP and weaknesses

Scan
Displays an emeny's HP/weakpoint

3 MP. Displays current and maximum
HP and MP, level, and any weaknesses of one enemy or
ally. 222 hit rate.

The NA description could at least
give some idea of what this magic barrier does....

22 MP. Sets 'reflect' status on one ally
or enemy. Unblockable.

シェル
魔法防御力を上げます

Shell
Raises magic defense

Shell
Raises magic defense

15 MP. Sets 'shell' status
on one ally or enemy. Unblockable.

バニシュ
姿を消します

Vanish
Removes from sight

Vanish
Renders target invisible

18 MP. Sets 'transparent' status on one ally
or enemy (or removes it, since magic clears the status).
Can't be blocked or reflected.

ヘイスガ
味方複数のスピードをアップ

Hastega
Ups speed of multiple allies

Haste2
Speeds up entire party

38 MP. Sets 'haste' status on one or all
allies or enemies (one side), though why you would choose
just one is a mystery. Unblockable.

スロウガ
敵数体のスピードを下げます

Slowga
Lowers speed of multiple enemies

Slow 2
Slows multiple enemies

26 MP. Sets 'slow' status on one or all
enemies or allies (one side), but why would you choose just
one...? 150 hit rate, more difficult to block than Slow.

アスピル
敵からＭＰを吸収します

Aspir
Absorbs MP from enemy

Osmose
Absorbs MP from an enemy

As noted on numerous Japanese sites,
アスピル (ASUPIRU) appears to be
short for "aspirate", to remove something by
suction.

Osmosis is a natural process in which
liquids pass through semi-permeable membranes from solutions
with lower concentrations to solutions with higher concentrations,
until the concentrations even out on each side of the membrane.
It doesn't apply very well to this spell, even if you consider magic
a liquid, since it's a transfer by force and has nothing to do with
the concentration of magic. If "aspirate" was too obscure,
why not use "absorb" or "siphon"?

1 MP. Transfers MP from one enemy or ally
to the caster at 26 power, but reverses when used on undead
targets. 150 hit rate, unreflectable. Never takes more enough
MP than needed to max out the caster (if the target is undead,
to max out the target instead). Power to cost ratio is largely
meaningless given the special purpose of the spell,
but here it is anyway: 26.000.

テレポ
ダンジョン・戦闘から脱出

Telepo[rt]
Escape from dungeons, combat

Warp
Escape from dungeons/battles

20 MP. In combat, makes the entire party
flee. Always succeeds, even when surrounded, unless at least
one surviving opponent has the 'can't flee' flag, which makes it
impossible to run from combat. Outside of combat, in most areas
with random monster encounters (besides the world map), it
teleports the party to the entrance. Usable outside of combat,
of course. Can't be blocked, reflected, or sealed.

クイック
２回コマンド入力出来ます

Quick
Can enter commands twice

Quick
Allows double commands

99 MP. Immediately after casting, the caster
gains two bonus turns. Until these two turns conclude, time
effectively stops, allowing the user to act at complete leisure without
anything else happening. Quick will fail if cast during one of these
bonus turns, which makes sense since it would otherwise make
for an incredible exploit, especially if combined with the Three
Stars accessory. Can't be blocked, reflected, or sealed.

Since time stops during the turns granted by
Quick, Cayenne can charge up to any Deathblow Sword skill desired
without anything happening in the meantime, though whether this is
worthwhile is questionable. For the more magically inclined, combining
Quick with the Soul of Thamasa accessory lets a character cast five
spells essentially at once by using Quick as the second spell (any
spell + Quick on the normal turn, followed by two spells on each
bonus turn). Combining with the Three Stars accessory negates the
considerable MP expenditure otherwise needed. However, never
cast Quick as your first spell when using a Soul of Thamasa. The
second spell will count as using up your first extra turn, leaving you
with only the second bonus turn to use normally.

デスペル
有効ステータスを解除します

Dispel
Cancels active status

Dispel
Maintains poor status

I think that takes the prize for the NA
version's most confusing description.

25 MP. Removes 'transparent', 'decoy', 'berserk',
'regenerate', 'slow', 'haste', 'stop', 'shell', 'protect', 'reflect', 'reraise',
and 'levitate' status from one enemy or ally. Can't be blocked or
reflected, which is good since otherwise it wouldn't be of much use
for removing 'reflect'. Can be used outside of combat, although
the only statuses it affects that last that long are 'transparent' and
'levitate', which you might prefer to keep.

かいふく

Recovery

Healing

ケアル
ＨＰを回復します

Cure
Recovers HP

Cure
Recovers HP

5 MP. Heals one or all allies or enemies
(one side) at 10 power. Unblockable, ignores defense, and
damages undead targets. Usable outside of combat. Power
to cost ratio is 2.00, defense-ignoring, making this the most
efficient of the three healing spells.

ケラルラ
ＨＰを回復します

Cura
Recovers HP

Cure 2
Recovers HP

25 MP. Identical to Cure except for cost
and its power of 28. Power to cost ratio is 1.12, defense-ignoring,
making this the least efficient.

ケラルガ
ＨＰを回復します

Curega
Recovers HP

Cure 3
Recovers HP

40 MP. Identical to Cure except for cost
and its power of 66. Power to cost ratio is 1.65,
defense-ignoring.

レイズ
戦闘不能を回復します

Raise
Recovers from incapacitated

Life
Recovers life

30 MP. Removes 'incapacitated' status and
recovers 1/8 of target's max HP (ignores defense) for one ally or
enemy. Kills undead targets. Unblockable and unreflectable,
but misses all undead targets with 'incapacitated' status and all
non-undead targets without 'incapacitated' status, displaying as
blocked when the target has a shield that activates spell blocking
animations. Usable outside of combat.

The Vanish/Doom bug also affects
spells that should automatically miss unless the target is
incapacitated, so Raise and Araise will work on living targets
with 'transparent' status, healing their usual amount.

The prevailing theory on Japanese
sites is that Esuna is short for 永久ステータスを治す
(eikyuu
SUTEETASU wo naosu,
cures permanent status). The goes back to FF2, where it
could cure only persisting status effects and
existed alongside Basuna, which only cured status effects that
wore off after combat; the 'ba' likely came from バトル中
(BATORU chuu,
during battle). Esuna has since become a more
general-purpose status-curing spell, but the name stuck.